The Buss family has entered into an agreement to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter at a valuation of $10 billion.
The sale, which was first reported by ESPN, would be the largest sale of a sports franchise in global history, and ends the 46-year tenure of the Buss family as owners of the hallowed, 17-time champion NBA team. Jeanie Buss will continue in her role as the Lakers’ governor.
Walter, the CEO of diversified holding company TWG Global, has interests in multiple sports organizations, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Dr. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million from Jack Kent Cooke, that included the Forum in Inglewood and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.
Under Buss’ ownership, the Lakers became the hottest ticket in Los Angeles, with the owner turning the team’s games into full scale spectacles under the mantra “Showtime.” Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Lakers won five NBA championships in the 1980s, with two of them coming against the rival Boston Celtics.
Buss’ Lakers would then win five more championships from 2000 to 2010 under the leadership of Kobe Bryant, followed by their most recent in 2020 in the COVID-19 pandemic bubble with LeBron James.
Dr. Jerry Buss died in 2013, with his daughter, Jeanie, taking over business operations while his son, Jim, took over basketball operations. Jeanie fired Jim in 2017 after the team failed to make the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, leading to an ownership dispute that Jeanie Buss prevailed in, giving her full operational control over the Lakers.
More to come…
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